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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · wound · bay · march · net · date · straw · land

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — the month
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — in sport
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — after costs
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. land — a country
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. net — for catching
  22. march — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com